Quinn plans layoffs, facility closings

Monique Garcia, Tribune reporter

Gov. Pat Quinn plans to issue layoff notices to thousands of state workers this week as he deals with a budget shortfall he pegs in the hundreds of millions of dollars, a state government source with knowledge of the situation told the Tribune.

The governor also intends to announce the closing of several state facilities, including a prison, juvenile detention center and homes for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled, sources confirmed. Without action, Quinn's budget office says, several agencies would run out of money by the spring.

Quinn is responding to the Democratic-controlled Legislature's decision at the end of May to dictate this year's budget with little input from his office. The Democratic governor maintains that lawmakers didn't provide enough money to keep the state operating for a full year. Quinn, who asked for $2.2 billion more, already has made partial vetoes to the budget and blocked raises for thousands of state workers, a decision that's being challenged in court by the state's largest government employee union. The union also is expected to fight the pink slips, citing a no-layoff agreement it struck with Quinn last year.

The governor's impending moves may explain why a Democrat who runs a large, reliably Democratic state made no public appearances over Labor Day weekend — a time when organized labor seeks to rally its troops heading into a critical election year for the White House, Congress and the Legislature.

Quinn also appears to be setting the table for next month's fall session, allowing pressure to build on lawmakers to free up more money as they prepare to return to Springfield after being away most of the summer.

The administration says at least a dozen agencies won't have enough money to make it through the year, and budget memos indicate the three hardest-hit agencies are the Corrections, Juvenile Justice and Human Services departments.

Unless lawmakers step in, the prisons system won't have enough money to pay guards, let alone feed and clothe inmates or provide proper drug addiction counseling and medical care, according to Quinn budget office estimates. There also won't be enough cash to cover checks for workers who care for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled, or keep the doors open for a full year at state-operated residential facilities and psychiatric hospitals. The state also is struggling to cover the cost of the food stamp program and cover travel costs for workers investigating allegations of abuse or neglect.

The problems come as little surprise to lawmakers. Scaling back the budgets for many agencies was an attempt by legislators to strike back at Quinn for cutting an election-year deal with a major state employees union to avoid closings and layoffs. Legislators wanted to hold costs down after approving a 67 percent increase in the state income tax rate in January.

If Quinn moves to close state facilities, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees likely would sue, as it did over the blocked pay raises. "In respect to our agreement, it was collectively bargained. It's binding and it has the force of law," said AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall, who added that the union had yet to be notified of layoffs or closings.

A panel of state lawmakers also would have to approve facility closings. The list of facilities to be targeted for closing is in flux, the state government source said. If Quinn targets Republican districts for prison and mental health closures, it will be viewed at the Capitol as squeezing those lawmakers to go along with his desire to find more money for the budget and avoid the cuts. Quinn has made a couple of failed runs this year at a borrowing plan to whittle down the state's backlog of bills and could do so again this fall.

Senate President John Cullerton has expressed the desire to revisit spending levels, but that may prove difficult after fellow Chicago Democrat and powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan aligned with Republicans in the spring to keep spending down.

"(Quinn's) budget request was $2.2 billion higher than the House (Democrats), jointly with the (Republicans) forecast would be available," said budget expert Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley. "It was never going to be an easy budget to manage because for the first time in many, many years, the Legislature set the level of revenues and actually made the pension payments without using any borrowing and those other items that have usually shored us up."

Some lawmakers warn that Quinn will find little relief as state coffers remain bare despite the major income tax increase. Republican Sen. Matt Murphy, of Palatine, says the state already spends too much and needs to cut further. He said moves like shutting facilities need to happen, but that Quinn should have known that before making a campaign pledge to keep them all open.

"This budget already spends more money than the people of this state can afford if the tax increase is really going to be temporary as the Democrats promised," Murphy said. "Difficult choices need to be made … (facility closings) have to happen. It would have been a lot easier to do if he didn't reach an agreement before the last election that tied his hands in doing what needs to be done."

Still, Quinn's office says it has no choice but to make difficult decisions given the state's dire situation.

"The General Assembly sent the governor an incomplete budget that does not contain adequate appropriations for state agency operations. Implementing the state's budget is an ongoing process, and the administration continues working to manage the budget," spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said in a statement.